Module 3

Introduction to Cyberbullying

Juan Calmaestra1, Rosario del Rey

1,

Rosario Ortega1 and Joaquín A. Mora-Merchán

2

(1)

University of Cordoba (Spain) (2)

University of Seville (Spain)

Project N° 142237-LLP-1-2008-1-DE-LEONARDO-LMP

The CyberTraining project and its outcomes has been founded with support form the European Commission. This report reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

© CyberTraining 2008-201

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Summary

� Bullying is evolving negatively towards new forms of aggression. Its path has converged

with that of the ICTs, producing the phenomenon we now call cyberbullying.

� Cyberbullying can be classified in two ways: by the channel through which the abuse occurs

and by the nature of the abuse itself.

� Bashing, Exclusion, Flaming, Outing and Posing are some of the tactics used by cyberbullies

when confronting targets.

� In most studies on cyberbullying, the percentage of prevalence obtained has been around

10%.

� Victims of cyberbullying express negative feelings such as rage, frustration with 10% of

victims even stating that they still felt stressed by their experiences.

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Introduction

The last 15 years have seen changes in how we communicate with others which were previously

unimaginable. The boom in the use of information and communications technologies (henceforth

referred to as ICTs) has created a whole new environment in which we can develop personal

relationships. Thanks to the growth of the Internet, the World Wide Web, there are now

opportunities to communicate which would have been considered science fiction only a few decades

ago. To illustrate the speed of this technological evolution, we might consider that the percentage of

homes in the EU with broadband access to the Internet has risen from 15% in 2004 to 56% in 2009[1].

Cell phone use has also increased: in 1996 there were just seven mobile phone lines per 100

inhabitants, while 10 years later this figure had risen to 106 lines per 100 inhabitants [1].

For further information about the use of ICT by young people, please look at Young people’s media

use and e-culture in Chapter 2 of this e-book.

These changes have drastically altered the way in which adults communicate with each other, but

they have had an even greater impact among younger people, who have grown up in an age

dominated by ICTs. Social Networks, Chats, Forums and SMS are all habitually used by young people

to communicate with each other when face-to-face communication is not possible. Indeed for some

young people, these may be preferable to face-to-face communication.

These following two activities focus on the new characteristics of cyberspace:

Activity 3.1 ‘My words and images fly very fast in cyberspace’ explores the difficulty of controlling

our information in the Internet. Activity 3.2 compares virtual and real friends.

On the other hand, bullying is evolving negatively towards new forms of aggression. Its path has

converged with that of the ICTs, producing the phenomenon we now call cyberbullying. As a very

simple definition, we could say that this new phenomenon is bullying conducted through electronic

channels of personal contact, such as the Internet or cell phones.

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Research into cyberbullying was first carried out at the beginning of the 21st Century. The earliest

work we have traced was published in 2000 [2], but it was not until 2002 that the first research paper

on cell phone cyberbullying [3] was published in Europe (Norway). A few years later the phenomenon

began to attract attention in the media. This media interest probably owed much to a series of high

profile cases of suicide involving adolescents affected by the problem. The first documented case was

the suicide of Ryan Halligan, a 13-year old New Yorker who took his own life having been subjected

to bullying and cyberbullying. But the most famous case of cyberbullying was perhaps that of Megan

Meier, a 13 year old American girl who committed suicide in 2006, following a cyberbullying attack

perpetrated by someone falsely impersonating a teenage boy on MySpace.

These, and other cases of cyberbullying, have made society more aware of this new phenomenon

and have raised demands for preventive measures to be taken. This manual is intended as a step in

that direction, with this Chapter providing an introduction to the phenomenon.

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Objectives and learning outcomes

The aim of this Chapter is to give you an overview of the cyberbullying phenomenon. The theme is

approached by addressing three major objectives:

1. Defining and delimiting cyberbullying. Those using this manual need to know what cyberbullying

is and need to be aware of its nature and its peculiarities. Since the phenomenon has evolved

and spread only recently, society is not yet fully familiar with it. This chapter is, therefore,

intended to serve as an introduction. The concepts raised here will be studied in greater detail in

the following chapters.

2. Recognising the importance of cyberbullying and its potential effects. For many people

cyberbullying is just a childish prank, or something which cannot cause its victims any harm. They

underestimate its consequences and do not appreciate that it is in fact a serious problem in need

of a solution. In this chapter we will use a series of simple activities to raise awareness of the

scope of the problem.

3. Distinguishing virtual space from physical space. Many people are not aware of the differences

between these two types of space. Some even believe that what they do in virtual space actually

has no effect on real people.

These three general objectives will be addressed through the following specific objectives, which will

be reinforced by the activities presented further on:

� Introduce readers to the cyberbullying phenomenon;

� Educate participants about the channels through which cyberbullying may occur;

� Raise awareness of how cyberbullying can affect certain people;

� Acknowledge, understand and respect the other person’s point of view in cyberbullying

situations;

� Learn about specific features inherent to cyberspace;

� Differentiate physical space from virtual space.

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Summary of current knowledge and thinking

Bullying and Cyberbullying

Definition

What is bullying and cyberbullying?

Over the last 40 years, and concurrently with these changes in communicative behaviour,

researchers have also been studying the phenomenon described in the 1970s as “bullying” [4]. It has

been shown that in order to be considered an example of bullying, a situation should meet at least

three conditions [5-8]: Intention to cause harm to the victim, repetition of the abusive behaviour over

a period of time and imbalance of power between victim and bully.

Situations of abuse among schoolchildren are also marked by the existence of a Dominance-

Submission dynamic [9] between perpetrators and victims; all enshrouded in an invisible law which

exacerbates the effects of the abuse and which is commonly referred to as the code of silence [10].

Within the dominance-submission dynamic, both perpetrators and victims learn to behave in

accordance with their respective roles. The code of silence prevents the reporting of cases of bullying

to adults through fear of how the perpetrators or the peer group may react.

For further information about bullying, please look at webpage of Anti-Bullying alliance1

that you

can find in the section Useful Websites of this chapter.

Taking into account the specific features of the channels through which cyberbullying occurs, we

have considered it necessary to give the phenomenon its own definition, although this definition is

inevitably closely related to the definition of traditional bullying [6]. Smith and colleagues [11] define

cyberbullying as an aggressive intentional act carried out by a group or individual, using electronic

forms of contact, repeatedly and over time against a victim who cannot easily defend him or herself.

1 http://www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/

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Nancy Willard [12-13], focussing especially on the social dimension of the problem, considers that

cyberbullying is being cruel to others by sending or posting harmful material or engaging in other

forms of social cruelty using the Internet or other digital technologies[13]. Bill Belsey [14] states that

cyberbullying involves the use of ICTs as a platform for intentional, repetitive, hostile conduct by a

group or individual aimed at causing harm to others. Cyberbullying is structured by a relational

dynamic with at least two well defined roles: aggressor and victim. However, its communication

channel, instantaneity and the lack of face-to-face contact bring differential characteristics [15].

As we have mentioned above, cyberbullying is closely related to traditional bullying. However, the

nature of the channel through which abuse is perpetrated has created a series of factors specific to

traditional forms of bullying, while at the same time making it necessary to take into consideration

another series of factors which are exclusive to cyberbullying.

You can find further information about the characteristic of bullying and cyberbullying in, resource

3.4 ‘Differences between bullying and cyberbullying’.

Classifications

Depending on the type of role assumed by an individual in the bullying dynamic, six different types of

actor can be identified in the bullying phenomenon: aggressor, reinforcer, assistant, defender,

outsider and victim [16]. The reinforcer and the assistant each support the aggressor in a different

way, while the defender tries to help the victim and the outsider simply ignores the abuse. Some

individuals act as victims and aggressors at the same time [5, 8, 17-18].

On the other hand, cyberbullying can be classified in two ways: by the channel through which the

abuse occurs and by the nature of the abuse itself. In the first system of classification, cyberbullying

could be divided into the following categories: SMS; MMS; Calls; E-mail; Chatrooms; Instant Message;

and Websites [11, 19-20]. The phenomenon can also be divided between cell phone cyberbullying (the

first three types listed above, also called happy slapping - mainly between 2003 and 2007) and

Internet cyberbullying (the last four types) [21]. With regard to the nature of the abuse perpetrated,

cases of cyberbullying can be divided into the following categories: flaming; harassment; denigration;

impersonation; outing; trickery; exclusion; and cyber stalking [13, 22]. Theses classifications are

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provisional because they could vary in the future due to technological advances. For example it is

increasingly frequent mobile phone use to surf the Internet and vice versa. In addition, teens can

change their behavior in the same way.

You can find more detailed information on these two types of classification in Resource 3.5

‘Classifications of Cyberbullying’.

Activity 3.3 ‘What is cyberbullying?’ is planned to help you to familiarise yourself with the term

cyberbullying and its meaning, the defining characteristics of it and the ways in which it occurs.

Activity 3.4 ‘What could happen?’ is intended to help you to learn the potential risks of each of the

channels through which cyberbullying may occur, evaluate the preventive or corrective measures

brainstormed by the participants and establish measures which will help to prevent cyberbullying

from taking place.

Brief introduction to the main terminology associated with cyberbullying

The following are tactics used by cyberbullies against their targets:

� Bashing – Using the Internet to commit direct verbal or visual attacks at any time. Cyberbullies

may post comments on blogs or send text messages from a phone. They may also take photos of

targets or steal a photo from an online source to alter images in damaging ways or add

derogatory comments and post them online for others to see. One emerging trend is the

videoing of students being beaten, which are then uploaded online.

� Exclusion – Being excluded from participating in online activities with their peers, which can

bring on feelings of rejection. Exclusion may occur in an online gaming environment, group

blogging environment, or any other password-protected community. Exclusion may also occur in

an instant messaging or text messaging environment.

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� Flaming – An intense, short-lived argument that often includes offensive, rude and vulgar

language, insults and sometimes threats. Flaming can occur via text or instant messaging, in

blogs of social networking sites, chat rooms, discussion boards, or online gaming sites.

� Outing –Disclosing secrets or personal and private information about the target that

embarrasses or humiliates him or her. A common way to “out” someone is to forward a message

from the target that contains intimate, personal information to others.

� Posing – A form of indirect attack where a cyberbully creates Web sites pretending to be the

target. Alternatively they might use the target’s user access information to engage in abuse such

as, posting defamatory comments. When the cyberbully pretends to be the target and says mean

things about the target’s friends, it can cause those friends to reject them.

Activity 3.5 ‘An introduction to cyberbullying terminology - Name that tactic’ is designed to help you

understand the different kinds of cyberbullying.

Some data about cyberbullying

How many people are involved in cyberbullying?

Several studies have been carried out to investigate the range and frequency of the cyberbullying

phenomenon. However, prevalence rates vary from one study to the next. In a study carried out by

Finkelhor and colleagues [2], results indicated that the percentage of Internet users in the United

States who had been subject to online harassment was 6%. However, this percentage was much

lower than 25% found in California [23] or Canada [24]. The earliest European studies returned

percentages lower than those recorded in the United States [25-26].

The first study to address cyberbullying as a subject of research in its own right was undertaken by

Ybarra and Mitchell [27]. It showed that 19% of young people between the ages of 10 and 17 had

direct experience of cyberbullying. Australian data [28] provided somewhat lower percentages of

prevalence, with 14% of those participating in the survey being identified as victims. In the study

conducted by Burgess-Proctor and colleagues [29], 38.3% of those questioned considered themselves

victims of cyberbullying, however only 10%-15% reported particularly serious forms of aggression. In

Canada, Li [30] discovered that 25% of the sample group declared themselves victims. But the highest

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prevalence data was recorded by Raskauskas and Stolz [31] in the United States, where 49% of the

sample group said they had been victims of this type of abuse.

Percentages of involvement have also been very wide ranging in Europe, with the number of people

involved as victims fluctuating between 1%-50%. In most studies, however, and with a number of

exceptions, the percentage of prevalence obtained has been around 10% [20-21, 26, 32-46]. The only study

to offer a global overview of cyberbullying in Europe showed that 29% of the young people

considered themselves victims of cyberbullying [47].

Resource 3.9 ‘Cyberbullying in Europe. Research’ provides an overview about the situation in the

partner countries of the CyberTraining project - Germany, Ireland, Spain, Portugal and the UK. These

resources are only available in English.

Effect of Age and gender on cyberbullying

Whilst many studies suggest that girls tend to be more involved in victimization via ICTs than boys [20-

21, 34, 48], some have found either no difference between sexes [27, 49] or that, on the contrary, boys are

more involved than girls [39].

With regard to the age of victims, the importance of this factor is not clear at present. Levels of

prevalence seem to remain stable during adolescence before declining from the age of 16 onwards

[37, 44].

Overlap between bullying and cyberbullying

On the other hand, there is abundant evidence which shows a close relationship exists between

involvement, in the same role, in traditional forms of bullying and in cyberbullying [21, 30, 39, 50].

If you are interested in further information about these last two topics please see Resource 3.10

‘Transnational comparative analysis: The situation in Europe’. These resources are only available in

English.

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Impact of cyberbullying

There is little agreement regarding the seriousness of these two forms of abuse. For some students,

cyberbullying is more dangerous and harmful than bullying, but for others the opposite is true. Some

researchers suggest that [27] the effects of both cyberbullying and bullying are similar. Slonje and

Smith [44] found that adolescents considered cyberbullying via SMS less harmful than bullying, but

viewed cyberbullying using images or videos worse than bullying. This second finding is supported by

the results published by Smith and colleagues [20], although these results also included telephone

calls. The studies into Chatroom cyberbullying carried out by Katzer [51] and Katzer and Fetchenhauer

[52] showed that victims expressed negative feelings such as rage, frustration, etc., with 10% of

victims even stating that they still felt stressed by their experiences.

Activity 3.6 ‘Cyberbullying isn’t a game’ aims to generate some reflection on the potential impact of

cyberbullying, realising that cyberbullying is not merely "a childish prank" and learning to empathize

with the victims of cyberbullying

Activity 3.7 ‘Maybe it’s only a Joke for you, but it hurts me’ is intended to help you appreciate the

point of view of the victims of practical jokes, raise awareness of the harm which can be caused by

certain types of conduct in cyberspace and empathize with victims.

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Activities

Purpose

The activities described below are designed to meet the objectives we established at the beginning

of this chapter. They all follow the same logical order. First there is a purpose, explaining why the

activity should be carried out. The procedure is then detailed. We propose different kinds of

activities. Ideally, some of them should be carried out in groups, but if this is not possible they can be

adapted to be carried out by one single person. At the end of the procedure there is a list of

resources which may prove useful to the person or people working on the activity.

Target group

All of the activities are aimed at education, training professionals, parents, and adolescents. More

specifically, the activities could be aimed at training teachers as well. For this, the idea is that these

professionals will assimilate the activities and then use them in their own training sessions. Each

participant will therefore play a hands-on role in the learning process. The activities offered should

not be interpreted as strictly regulated, inflexible procedures, but can be adapted to meet the needs

of each specific situation.

Timeframe

They can also be carried out in an ordinary work session, with the time devoted to discussion being

adapted to suit different circumstances. This versatility is possible because the introduction to each

of the proposed activities is very short and the discussion time can be extended at the participant’s

discretion in line with the desired degree of analysis.

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Overview:

There are a total of 8 activities: three for the first general objective and two for the rest of the

general objectives plus an overall learning process evaluation activity at the end. The activities are:

Activity 3.1 ‘My words and images fly very fast in cyberspace’ aims to make participants exploring the

difficulty of controlling the information we publish in the Internet.

Activity 3.2 ‘Virtual friend versus real friend’ aims to make participants comparing virtual and real

friends.

Activity 3.3 ‘What is cyberbullying?’ aims to help participants familiarising themselves with the term

cyberbullying and its meaning, the defining characteristics of it and the ways in which it occurs.

Activity 3.4 ‘What could happen?’ aims to help participants learning more about the potential risks of

each of the channels through which cyberbullying may occur, evaluating the preventive or corrective

measures brainstormed by the participants and establishing measures which will help to prevent

cyberbullying from taking place.

Activity 3.5 ‘An Introduction to cyberbullying terminology - Name that tactic’ is designed to help

participants understanding the different kinds of cyberbullying.

Activity 3.6 ‘Cyberbullying isn’t a game’ aims to make participants reflecting on the potential impact

of cyberbullying, realising that cyberbullying is not merely "a childish prank" and learning to

empathize with the victims of cyberbullying.

Activity 3.7 ‘Maybe it’s only a joke for you, but it hurts me’ is intended to help participants

appreciating the point of view of the victims of practical jokes, raising awareness of the harm which

can be caused by certain types of conduct in cyberspace and empathizing with victims.

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Activity 3.1 ‘My words and images fly very fast in cyberspace’

Purpose

Do we fully realise that when we post a text or image in cyberspace we lose control over which

people can see or read the material? Even when we delete an image, somebody has already had the

opportunity to download it and could post it again, on another page, without our knowing. It can

even be altered using different types of software, and then posted on the Internet to make fun of

us.

Resource

Resource 3.1 ‘Lucy posts her holiday photos’

If you have a video with a story similar to that of “Lucy posts her holiday photos” you may prefer to

use it instead, following the same activity procedure.

Procedure

Read the story “Lucy posts her holidays” (resource 3.1). Discuss in your team what happens in the

story in your group. Could something similar ever happen to you? Now tell the other groups the

conclusions you have reached about the story. What mistake did Lucy make? To finish, please try to

think how many times in the past you have run the risk of exposing yourself to similar problems to

those described in the story.

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Activity 3.2 ‘Virtual friend versus real friend’

Purpose

Today many adolescents like to brag about having hundreds or even thousands of friends in

cyberspace, above all in social network spaces such as Facebook. This is possible thanks to the fact

that via the Internet you can be friends with a person without actually interacting with him/her.

Young people sometimes find it difficult to differentiate between true friends and mere

acquaintances contacted through electronic channels. We are not saying that true friendship cannot

be cultivated on the Internet, but that it is impossible to maintain hundreds of meaningful

friendships at the same time.

Resources

Resource 3.2 ‘With a friend I can… list’

Resource 3.3 ‘John's story’

Procedure

Make a list of the personal qualities of your real friends. To do this, you may want to use the list

“With a friend I can…” in the resources section. Do the same for those friends with whom your only

contact is via ICTs (the friends you have met on the Internet or by telephone, but have never met in

person). Again, you can use the list to help you (resource 3.2). Compare your lists with those of the

other people in your group. Which of the two lists is better for maintaining a friendship? We should

be aware that good friends are those who tend be at hand at the worst moments. In your group, try

to describe the kinds of problems that you would like to be able to talk over with a good friend. And

then decide whether that friend would be a real friend or a virtual friend. Then start a discussion on

the advantages of each type of friend and then take a vote: which type of friend is better? To

conclude, read the story of our friend John (resource 3.3) and answer this question: Why should

certain information not is given to virtual friends?

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Activity 3.3 ‘What is cyberbullying?’

Purpose

Knowing exactly what behaviour constitutes cyberbullying and what behaviour does not, is crucial

for preventing it or implementing measures to eliminate it. At present, it is not clear exactly what

cyberbullying is. This activity will help us to be sure of when we are confronting a case of

cyberbullying.

Resource

Resource 3.6 - Video ‘Let's fight it together’

Resource 3.7 ‘Possible questions for discussion in small groups’

Procedure

Watch the video “Let's fight it together”. Then, share your thoughts about the video with the other

people in your group. If you are alone form your own thoughts about the video. You could use the

resource 6 to guide the discussion. You could take notes about your conversation or your thoughts.

Now, share your knowledge with the other groups. To finish this activity, reflect about how this

activity helped you.

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Activity 3.4 ‘What could happen?’

Purpose

As we saw in the section dedicated to theory, cyberbullying can occur via seven channels. If

participants are aware of the risks attached to each of these channels they will be more careful

when using them. Our attitude is not that these forms of communication should not be used

through fear of the consequences, but that they should be used more safely and more responsibly.

Resource

No extra resources are required for this activity. Ideally, a group should be formed to discuss each of

the different channels of communication: that is, a total of seven groups. This way, all channels can

be covered.

Procedure

Choose one of the seven channels through which cyberbullying can occur and form a group with

others who have chosen that same channel. Remember that the channels are SMS, MMS, Phone

Calls, Instant Messenger Communications, Chatrooms, Websites and E-mail. Then, in your group,

think about the possible risks involved in using these channels. Also think about the ways in which

another person could annoy you or victimize you using these channels. How this could be prevented

from happening or from continuing to happen, and how can the effects be minimised? Discuss the

conclusions you have reached in each small group with the other groups. Try to encourage the other

groups to say whether they think there are other potential risks or forms of abuse which you did not

think of. Try to go a little further with regard to the preventive or corrective measures which should

be taken. To finish, please assess the risks you encounter when using ICTs. Similarly, take a self-

critical look at whether you personally have unintentionally annoyed another person through any of

these channels.

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Activity 3.5 ‘An introduction to cyberbullying terminology - Name that tactic’

Purpose

This activity is designed for a group of approximately twenty to twenty-five participants. The

purpose of the activity is to introduce parents to the terminology and tactics associated with

cyberbullying.

Resource

Resource 3.8 ‘Answer sheet’

Procedure

This activity can be completed by the individual or alternatively can also be tackled within a group

setting. For the scenarios below, which bullying tactic (posing, outing, flaming, bashing, exclusion)

is being used?:

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Activity 3.6 ‘Cyberbullying isn’t a game’

Purpose

Many people think cyberbullying is unimportant, seeing it as a myth invented by psychologists. But

the truth is far more serious. Cyberbullying can have far-reaching effects. In this activity we would

like people to think about the consequences of cyberbullying.

Resource

Resource 3.11 - Video ‘MySpace suicide: The Megan Meier story’

Resource 3.12 ‘Guide for discussing the Megan Meier story’

Procedure

Watch the video ‘MySpace Suicide: The Megan Meier Story’ and collect news items about Megan’s

story from the Internet. Find also information on the Internet about what happened to the mother

of Megan’s friend. Now reflect in your team about the effects of cyberbullying on Megan and other

children like her who suffer cyberbullying (for this you could use the guide that we propose:

Resource 9). To finish, think of how you would feel if you were a victim of cyberbullying. Write your

thoughts down.

Note: This is an extreme case of cyberbullying and fortunately very rare. In addition, this case is

atypical because the adult is an aggressor. However is a very powerful video that makes us reflect

on what some consider an "unimportant fact".

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Activity 3.7 ‘Maybe it’s only a joke for you, but it hurts me’

Purpose

Our research into cases of cyberbullying has revealed that many people believe that behaviour of

this kind by schoolchildren is mere “tomfoolery”. But sometimes cyberbullying is far from a joke,

and can cause real harm to victims.

Resource

No extra resources are required for this activity. However, if the activity organizer sees that no

participant has either been involved in a “practical joke” or is capable of inventing one, he/she may

narrate or make up one of his/her own as an example and organize the groups in such a manner

that in each small group there are at least one or two stories.

Procedure

Think of a “practical joke” you have played on someone or somebody you know has played on

someone using ICTs. Write down what happened. If you don’t know of a real case, try to invent one.

Listen to each group member’s story. Choose one of the stories and analyse it. What happened?

Why was the joke carried out? How did the victim take it? Do you think everyone laughed at the

joke, or only those who did it? Now, discuss all of the stories with the rest of the group. Note the

different points of view. The activity organizer should try to guide the discussion towards the

victim’s feelings. We should remember that a joke, to be a real joke, should be amusing for

everyone, including the target. To finish this activity, If you have played a "practical joke" of this

type, think about how you would have felt if you had been the victim of your “joke”. If you have

ever had a “practical joke” of this kind played on you, think about how you would explain to the

perpetrator that it was not a joke and how you would tell him/her not to do it again. If you have

never been directly involved in a practical joke, perhaps you have witnessed a practical joke played

on another person. Think about the victim's feelings in that situation.

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Resources

Overview:

Resource 3.1 ‘Lucy posts her holiday photos’ illustrates how posting pictures in the Internet can be a

source of danger.

Resource 3.2 ‘With a friend I can… list’ refers to the dangers of social networks.

Resource 3.3 ‘John's story’ is demonstrates the abuse of an online chat.

Resource 3.4 ‘Differences between bullying and cyberbullying’ provides further information about

the characteristic of bullying and cyberbullying.

Resource 3.5 ‘Classifications of cyberbullying’ provides detailed information on two classification

types of cyberbullying.

Resource 3.6 - Video ‘Let’s fight it together’ demonstrates in form of a video clip how cyberbullying

can be prevented.

Resource 3.7 ‘Possible questions for discussion in small groups’ provides an orientation on how to

discuss in small groups.

Resource 3.8 ‘Answer sheet’ aims to make parents parents getting to know different tactics of

cyberbullying.

Resource 3.9 ‘Transnational comparative analysis: The situation in Europe’ provides an overview

about the situation in the partner countries of the CyberTraining project - Germany, Ireland, Spain,

Portugal and the UK. These resources are only available in English.

Resource 3.10 ‘Cyberbullying in Europe: Research’ provides an overview about the state of the art in

terms cyberbullying research in the partner countries of the CyberTraining project - Germany,

Ireland, Spain, Portugal and the UK. These resources are only available in English.

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Resource 3.11 - Video ‘MySpace suicide: The Megan Meier story’ illustrates the story a young girl

who took her own life after she was cyberbullied.

Resource 3.12 ‘Guide for discussing the Megan Meier story’ provides a guideline on how to discuss

cyberbullying fates like the one of Megan Meier.

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Resource 3.1 ‘Lucy posts her holiday photos’

Lucy is a 16 year old girl who went on a holiday to a marvellous beach resort in Andalusia with her

friends. When she got back, she decided to post the photos from her holiday on the web page of her

social network so that her other friends could see what a good time they had. She uploaded pictures

of her sightseeing, her parties in the evening and her days on the beach. A few weeks later she began

to find herself in strange situations. Men she didn’t know greeted her in the street and made

comments about her. They said she was prettier with fewer clothes and things like that. Some of

them even made sexual advances.

A few days later she began to receive similar comments at school. Lucy was very surprised. She didn’t

understand why all this was happening and she began to get very worried.

One of her friends asked her why she had posted her photos on a contacts page on the Internet. Lucy

told her she knew nothing about that, and she asked her friend to give her the Internet address

where she had seen her pictures.

When she went into the page she discovered the photos of herself in her swimsuit which she had

posted on her social network site, but they were alongside comments about what she liked, what she

didn't like and how she was looking for relationships with anyone who might be interested. Lucy

couldn’t believe what she was reading. Someone had posted her photos on that site. It was horrible.

Lucy could find no explanation. She had disabled the photo download option on her social network

site. Nobody could download her photos. Lucy then logged onto her social network and started to

leave insulting, derogatory messages on all her friends’ pages. She was furious about what was

happening to her.

After writing the messages she saw that she had received a private message from a stranger called

Blue Air, thanking her for the marvellous beach photos. She then realized that it had not been her

friends who had posted her photos on the other site, and she regretted the comments she had

written. But it was too late. Her messages had been sent and now she couldn’t edit them. Lucy’s

friends turned their backs on her for all the insults she had sent them, and, even though she tried to

apologize, her words were still there on the social network pages. Every time her friends saw them

they got angry with her again.

And how did Blue Air get the photos? Easy: Lucy had her social network page configured to allow

24

anyone to see its content. Blue Air saw her profile and decided to download her photos. Although

Lucy had the download option in her account disabled so that nobody could download her photos,

there are still many easy ways to access and save images accessible to anyone with a good

knowledge of computers.

Resource 3.2 ‘With a friend I can… list’

� With a friend I can share my problems

� With a friend I can rely on someone

� With a friend I can embrace someone when I need a hug

� With a friend I can communicate without using words

� With a friend I can do things with another person

� With a friend I can celebrate

� With a friend I can play

� With a friend I can play sport

� With a friend I can …

25

Resource 3.3 ‘John's story’

John has met a new friend online, in a chatroom popular among boys of his age. John and his friend

are getting to know each other, they have several interests in common and they get on well

together. John knows that he shouldn’t let strangers know his real name, and he makes no

exception in this case.

As they chat, the two friends realize that they both like nature and go to the park whenever they

can. John likes the St. James Park, next to his school, and he always goes there after classes. He also

loves sport, and both of them play football. John tells his friend that he is the goalkeeper in his

school team. The two of them have many things in common, and whenever they can they go online

to chat for a while.

One day, a stranger approaches John and says “Hello, John. I have to talk to you about something

very important.” John is surprised. He doesn’t know who this man is. The stranger tells him that he

is his cyber guardian angel and that he has to talk to him. He says that he is the friend he met online,

and that he should be careful about the information he shares. Thanks to their conversations, he

knew which school he went to, since there was only one school near the St James Park. He also

knew that he played as goalkeeper in the school team, and was therefore able to find a photo of him

on Internet. But that was not all. He also knew exactly where he could find John alone, because he

had told him he went to the park every day.

John was astonished. He thought he had been careful in his conversations with his cyber-friend, but

apparently he was wrong. This time, fortunately, he had been lucky and nothing had happened.

26

Resource 3.4 ‘Differences between bullying and cyberbullying’

Bullying Cyberbullying

Intentionality

The perpetrators must be acting

deliberately: spontaneous or casual acts

are not considered cases of bullying.

The perpetrator must deliberately intend

to harm or annoy the victim if a situation

is to be described as a case of

cyberbullying

Repetition

If an individual’s behaviour is to be

considered bullying it cannot be

sporadic, but should occur more or less

constantly over a period of time. A one-

off attack, for example, is not an example

of bullying.

The repetition may be quantified in

terms of the number of times a certain

image or video is posted or viewed.

Imbalance of

power

A power imbalance, either real or

imagined, is created between the victim

and the perpetrator. This occurs whether

the aggression is physical or

psychological.

Cyberbullying also involves an imbalance

caused by the protagonists’ levels of

computer expertise. This imbalance may

be caused by the fact that the victim

does not know his/her aggressor, and

cannot therefore locate the person or

defend him/herself against their attacks.

Number of

bystanders

Normally, episodes of bullying are known

by a relatively small number of people,

sometimes known only by the aggressors

and victims. Other times it is also known

by the rest of the class, and on rare

This type of abuse may take two very

different forms: actions open to public

scrutiny, such as denigrating a person in

a video posted on Internet, or private

situations known only to the aggressors

27

occasions is known throughout the

school.

and the victim, such as exchanges of

emails or communication via instant

messaging.

Anonymity

Generally, the victim knows their

aggressor. Only in a few modalities of

bullying, such as spreading rumours,

could he/she remain anonymous.

Some perpetrators are able to conceal

their identity thanks to their

technological expertise and resources.

This can increase the aggressor’s sense of

impunity and at the same time intensify

the victim’s sense of vulnerability.

24/7

In bullying, victims can only be subject to

abuse during school hours or on the way

to or from their school.

Cyberbullying can occur at any moment

and at any time of day or night.

Timetables and safe physical spaces are

eliminated, and aggression can even

occur during the school holidays.

28

Resource 3.5 ‘Classifications of cyberbullying’

By Ways (cp. Smith et al, 2008):

� SMS: sending or receiving abusive text messages by mobile phone

� MMS: taking, sending or receiving unpleasant photos and/or videos using mobile phones (e.g.

happy slapping)

� Calls: sending or receiving upsetting phone calls (e.g. malicious prank calls)

� E-mail: Malicious or threatening emails directly to a victim, or about a victim to others

� Chatrooms: Intimidation or abuse when participating in chat rooms

� Instant Message: Abusive instant messages (MSN, Yahoo, AIM etc)

� Websites: Where secret or personal details are revealed in an abusive way or where nasty or

unpleasant comments are posted. May also involve uploading humiliating photos or videos on a

webpage or posting degrading polls.

By Behaviors (cp. Willard, 2007):

� Flaming: Online fights using electronic messages with angry and vulgar language

� Harassment: Repeatedly sending nasty, mean, and insulting messages

� Denigration: “Dissing” someone online. Sending or posting gossip or rumors about a person to

damage his or her reputation or friendships

� Impersonation: Pretending to be someone else and sending or posting material to get that

person in trouble or danger or to damage that person’s reputation or friendships

� Outing: Sharing someone’s secrets or embarrassing information or images online

� Trickery: Talking someone into revealing secrets or embarrassing information, then sharing it

online.

� Exclusion: Intentionally and cruelly excluding someone from an online group.

� Cyberstalking: Repeated, intense harassment and denigration that includes threats or creates

significant fear.

29

Resource 3.6 - Video ‘Let’s fight it together’

Created by: Childnet International (http://www.childnet.com)

URL: http://www.digizen.org.uk/cyberbullying/fullFilm.aspx

Resource 3.7 ‘Possible questions for discussion in small groups’

� What happened in the story?

� What forms of cyberbullying used to worry Joe?

� What happened to Joe? And what happened to his bullies?

� How did Joe feel?

� How do you think affects the victim, in long and short term, who reported the aggression?

� How do you think affects the victim, in long and short term, who did’t report the aggression?

� How do you think the abuser feels when he is discovered by a member of authority?

� ...

You could use “A guide to using Let’s Fight It Together” to explore the issue in greater depth.

30

Resource 3.8 ‘Answer sheet’

1. John and Michael had never liked each other, especially on the rugby field. After practice they

would use electronic messages to send insults and call each other names. Finally, John told Michael

he better watch his back at rugby practice the next day.

Bullying tactic: _____________________

2. Jane and Ellen were good friends, but Jane was secretly envious of Ellen because John was her

boyfriend. One afternoon, they were working on a school project on the computer at Ellen's house.

Jane watched Ellen log onto her email and in the process discovered Ellen's password and user

name. Later, Jane logged on to Ellen's account and, pretending to be Ellen, sent a hurtful message to

her boyfriend John.

Bullying tactic: _____________________

3. Mark was a popular person at school. But he had been overweight most of his life and was

sensitive about the other guys seeing him change clothes in the changing room. Ryan, a new student

having trouble making friends, used his cell phone to take a picture of Mark with his shirt off in the

locker room. By the time the next class started, this unflattering picture of Mark was flying around

school.

Bullying tactic: _____________________

31

Resource 3.9 ‘Cyberbullying in Europe: Research’

Created by: The CyberTraining project (http://www.cybertraining-project.org/)

URL: http://www.cybertraining-project.org/page.php?lang=En&page=8

32

Resource 3.10 ‘Transnational comparative analysis: The situation in Europe

(English)’

Created by: The CyberTraining project (http://www.cybertraining-project.org/)

URL: http://cybertraining-

project.org/reports/Transnational%20comparative%20analysis%20The%20situation%20in%20Europe

.doc

33

Resource 3.11 - Video: MySpace suicide: The Megan Meier story’

Created by: Little Baby Ginn & Mondoreb

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MxxqcH_Mkc

Resource 3.12 ‘Guide for discussing the Megan Meier story’

The session organizer should guide the debate toward the following areas:

� Has there been any change in the attitude of the people who have seen the video towards

cyberbullying?

� Did they think cyberbullying could have these consequences?

� How would they have reacted?

� Is it possible to stop someone impersonating another on the Internet, such as logging in through

any official key that identifies us.

� You could debate about other aspects which may be raised in the discussion and which fall in

line with the activity objectives.

34

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40

Further reading and additional materials

� LAECOVI: Laboratorio de estudios sobre convivencia y prevención de la violencia (Laboratory of

studies on convivencia and violence prevention), http://www.laecovi.es

� COST ACTION IS0801Cyberbullying: coping with negative and enhancing positive uses of new

technologies, in relationships in educational settings, http://sites.google.com/site/costis0801/

� Anti-Bullying Alliance.,http://www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/

� In Brief (Free legal information about cyberbullying), http://www.inbrief.co.uk/cyberbullying.htm

� Teachernet (Cyberbullying: Supporting school staff),

http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/behaviour/cyber

� Cyber Bullying: Bullying in the Digital Age, http://www.cyberbullyhelp.com/index.htm

� WiredKids, http://www.stopcyberbullying.org

� Webpage of Bill Belsey, “www.cyberbullying.ca - Always On, Always Aware!,

http://www.cyberbullying.ca/

� Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use, http://csriu.org/cyberbully

� Bullying UK, http://www.bullying.co.uk/index.php/make-a-poster.html

� CyberSmart, http://cybersmart.org/